Magic custard cake with raspberries and caramel sauce

Who can resist a magic custard cake? I found myself trance-like at the supermarket, buying some milk (a rare purchase, since I don’t seem to ever use it), just for this recipe. That’s in italics because I’ve been particularly lazy with following any sort of recipe recently. There is something fascinating about these special cakes which separate into fluffy sponge on top and curd or custard at the bottom. The base of this is admittedly totally different to curd – it’s as solid as the photo suggests but still soft, yet sturdy enough to endure extra gooey things like caramel sauce and raspberries without being overly sloppy. As a base recipe it’s excellent – mildly sweet, although very fragrantly eggy – so really it would work with whatever other desserty condiments you want to play around with.

The only thing I’d add next time are some toasted flaked almonds or crushed toasted hazelnuts for serving, and I think it could be one of those homely looking desserts that end up knocking your socks off. Or if you’re wanting to keep the cake plain like in the original recipe, I’d be inclined to get heavier handed with the vanilla – maybe even scrape the seeds of a whole bean in there, or go in a different direction and add some lemon zest. The cake is your oyster.

Raspberry magic custard cake with caramel sauce

makes one 8×8″ square cake

4 eggs, separated

150g icing sugar

120g unsalted Butter

480ml milk

1 T (15ml) water

115g flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

enough raspberries (fresh or frozen) to cover (I used about 3/4c?)

1 Tbs sugar

2-3 drops vinegar

caramel sauce (optional – you will have some left over probably) or more icing sugar to dust

Melt the butter and set aside to slightly cool. Brush the inside of your pan with the melted butter generously, dust with flour to evenly coat. Preheat the oven to 160C (325F).

Beat the egg whites and vinegar to stiff peaks and set aside.

Warm the milk to lukewarm and set aside.

While the milk heats, beat the egg yolks and sugar in a medium/large bowl until they pale. Whisk in the melted butter and the tablespoon of water for about until evenly incorporated, then the flour, then the milk and vanilla. Fold in the egg whites a third at a time (a whisk will make this faster) only until no large clumps remain. The batter will be very thin with frothy bits on top.

Place raspberries in your pan and sprinkle with the regular sugar, then pour the batter over. Bake for 30 minutes, if the top is still pale, keep baking and check every 5-10 mins (EDIT: Someone who baked this suggested you leave it in for 55 minutes, but I haven’t tried this, so proceed at your own risk – original recipe would suggest this shouldn’t be a problem). If it’s golden brown, test with a skewer, which will come out relatively clean when done. Allow cake to cool before turning upside down onto a plate and cutting. Dust with icing sugar or drizzle with caramel right before you serve.

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About

Welcome to Two Spoons, a celebration of the crazy amazing things natural ingredients can do. I want to show the world that eating REAL food doesn't have to cost a lot of money, time and effort. Most of my recipes highlight the amazing potential of fruits & vegetables, if you just give them a little love. Since we're all human, there's the odd sweet treat thrown in too.

Currently I am based in Sydney, Australia (formerly Christchurch, New Zealand, and missing it plenty!). Want to catch up? Email me at twospoons.blog[at]gmail.com

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